June Roundup: ‘Pets’

Welcome back friends far and wide. As I write this I’m struggling to pick at keys underneath the belly of a particularly snuggly cat which can only mean that it is time to round up June’s edition of Blogs of the Round Table where we asked you to discuss all things related to ‘Pets.’

Who is the pet you find sitting in front of your computer at the deciding moment of a boss fight, or who falls asleep on your lap after you find the airship? Conversely, tell us about the mount, summon creature, or animal familiar that sticks out in your mind. On the other hand, maybe games cheapen the process of domesticating or building trust with an animal. Heck, maybe characters in games shouldn’t domesticate animals at all. We want to know about the animal friends that inspired you to make a game or the reasons why you named your first pet after a game character. Tell us about the connection between games and pets.

[the game]’s not for me if I’m being honest, not even in a morbid curiosity way.

BUT I keep logging into it once a day, just to keep everything ticking over. I receive a little gold, and some points to use on another vender (vending machine to Southerners), one that gifts you tat to further upgrade your cards with. I’m probably never going to play it again, but just on the off chance I do, I want to be in the very best of positions to get back on the horse.

Although the arcane and often unspoken ending requirements are never really made clear, the ending cinematic is simply a part of the credits roll. The true strength of the game is in how it’s experienced. Whether that experience is done through the systematic growth of crops and livestock, or simply spent in the nearby village’s bar flirting with the waitress, Harvest Moon is a game about finding an experience that suits the player’s desires, and then investing time into that experience.

And the dog is the physical embodiment of time spent relaxing.

Mariel Hurd on her very cleverly named blog, Veni, Vidi, Velcro. describes the process of trying to breed the perfect mount in Age of Wonders 3, leaving every unwanted byproduct of her experimentation “in a custody battle that nobody wants to win.”

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As for me, my cat has had just about enough waiting for dinner, and while I’m always happy to be your Round Table guide, I’d like to extend a warm welcome back to Lindsey Joyce, who shall be taking over next month’s BoRT as she escapes from qualifying exam purgatory so keep an eye for July’s topic and happy blogging!